124154: Ruling on keeping pets

I am ten years old and I would like tokeep a pet. Are there any guidelines concerning that? If there is anything,please draw our attention to it.

Published Date: 2008-12-13

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

We are very happy to
receive questions from our youth such as you, who love Allaah and His
Messenger and who are smart and intelligent. This question is important and
useful and is asked in a brief and polite manner. We ask Allaah to look
after you and take care of you and to reward with good everyone who has
contributed to your good upbringing.

Secondly:

Keeping and raising pets is
something that is permitted in Islam and there is nothing wrong with it.

Al-Bukhaari (6203) and
Muslim (2150) narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the best of
people in attitude. I had a brother who was called Abu ‘Umayr. He (the
narrator) said: I think he said: He was a weanling. When the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and saw him, he
said: “Abu ‘Umayr, what happened to the nughayr (nightingale)?” He used to
play with it.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said:

It indicates that it is
permissible for children to play with birds, and it is permissible to spend
money on permissible things that will entertain children, and it is
permissible to keep birds in cages and the like, and to clip the wings of
birds, because one or the other must have been done in the case of Abu
‘Umayr’s bird, and whichever is the case, the other comes under the same
ruling. End quote.

Fath al-Baari
(10/584).

With regard to the
conditions and guidelines on keeping animals, these include the following:

1.

The animal that is kept
should not be a dog, because Islam has forbidden keeping dogs except guard
dogs and hunting dogs. This has been explained in the answer to question no.
69777. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari (3225) and Muslim (2106). Would the Muslim be happy for the
angels of mercy not to accompany him in his house because of an animal he is
keeping?

2.

Not going so far with
regard to this matter that it reaches the stage of blameworthy extravagance.
We have seen some people who pay thousands and even millions competing to
buy a certain animal or take care of it and provide services for it. Some of
them even bequeath some of their wealth to them. In some countries there are
festivals and shows for all kinds of animals, on which huge amounts of money
are spent. All of this is foolishness and lack of common sense.

3.

The animal must be treated
kindly. If a Muslim keeps an animal, he must provide it with proper food and
drink, and not cause it any harm or injury by mistreating it or using it for
target practice or making animals fight one another, or exposing it to heat
or cold. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whilst a man was walking on the road, he became very thirsty. He found a
well so he went down into it and drank, then he came out. There he saw a dog
that was panting and biting the ground out of thirst. The man said: this dog
is feeling the same thirst that I felt. So he went back down into the well
and filled his shoe with water, then he held it in his mouth until he
climbed back up, and he gave the water to the dog. Allaah appreciated (his
action) and forgave him.” They said: O Messenger of Allaah, will we have
reward with regard to these animals? He said: “In every living thing there
is reward.”

Look at how the believer
will be rewarded for taking care of animals; rather he may even enter
Paradise because of his kind treatment of a single animal, as happened to
the man mentioned in this hadeeth. Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted,
loves those who do good.

And the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has told us of a woman who went to Hell
because of her neglect of a cat which she detained and it died of hunger;
she did not feed it or let it go and eat of the vermin of the earth.